Be an honest scholar. Have a heart that is tender towards Him and weigh everything by Scripture. What does it really say? You can't pick and choose, “I like this verse but I don’t like that one”, or “God meant this verse but He didn’t mean that verse”.
Study it for yourself. It's not good enough to take someone else's word for it. It’s not good enough to take a famous preacher’s word for it. It’s not good enough to take a respected Bible teacher’s word for it. You must become a student of the Bible. You must come to know Scripture for yourself and let God make the truth come alive in your heart.
This assumes, of course, that God wants to communicate and interact with you directly. And that, my friend, is the right assumption.
When God reveals Himself and His ways, it will always line up with Scripture. The two will never be in conflict; in fact, it is required that they go together hand-in-glove. A hand without a glove can become quite cold; a glove without a hand is lifeless. In the same way, spiritual revelation and a solid knowledge of Scripture go together. Either one without the other puts you on a slippery slope.
A poor knowledge of Scripture will cripple your walk with Him and leave you vulnerable to all kinds of deception. A distorted understanding of Scripture will lead to all kinds of error.
God is all about truth. He loves it. For those who love it with Him, He will find a way to unveil even more truth. More than just truth, He will find a way to reveal Himself ever more fully. He loves setting people free with His truth and His presence. You might say it's His passion.
When you can, use Scripture to weigh Scripture. If you’ve found one bit that you think contradicts another, then somewhere you’re misunderstanding something. Scripture NEVER contradicts Scripture. Ask for His enlightenment if you’re stuck. He gets a big kick out of explaining Scripture; He’ll do it for you if you’re heart’s right.
Real truth is simple. As Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." Seeing God with a pure heart comes with an added bonus: real truth becomes simple, and Jesus said that those who know the truth shall be set free by it.
I wrote this in another post, but it bears repeating:
Study it for yourself. It's not good enough to take someone else's word for it. It’s not good enough to take a famous preacher’s word for it. It’s not good enough to take a respected Bible teacher’s word for it. You must become a student of the Bible. You must come to know Scripture for yourself and let God make the truth come alive in your heart.
This assumes, of course, that God wants to communicate and interact with you directly. And that, my friend, is the right assumption.
When God reveals Himself and His ways, it will always line up with Scripture. The two will never be in conflict; in fact, it is required that they go together hand-in-glove. A hand without a glove can become quite cold; a glove without a hand is lifeless. In the same way, spiritual revelation and a solid knowledge of Scripture go together. Either one without the other puts you on a slippery slope.
A poor knowledge of Scripture will cripple your walk with Him and leave you vulnerable to all kinds of deception. A distorted understanding of Scripture will lead to all kinds of error.
God is all about truth. He loves it. For those who love it with Him, He will find a way to unveil even more truth. More than just truth, He will find a way to reveal Himself ever more fully. He loves setting people free with His truth and His presence. You might say it's His passion.
When you can, use Scripture to weigh Scripture. If you’ve found one bit that you think contradicts another, then somewhere you’re misunderstanding something. Scripture NEVER contradicts Scripture. Ask for His enlightenment if you’re stuck. He gets a big kick out of explaining Scripture; He’ll do it for you if you’re heart’s right.
Real truth is simple. As Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." Seeing God with a pure heart comes with an added bonus: real truth becomes simple, and Jesus said that those who know the truth shall be set free by it.
I wrote this in another post, but it bears repeating:
Here’s the real story about God: He is always ready to reveal Himself and His Son to someone who is ready to yield to Him. God has many things to share with a tender, pure heart that He cannot share with a hardened heart.
Truth must have a foundation laid in the heart before very much of it can be built in the mind. It doesn't take a genius to understand His truth; it does take a pure heart, a tender heart, a yielded and willing heart. Try asking Him for a heart like that. He wants you to ask for one and He is quite delighted to create one in you.
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